'Malala! I know her!' declared Year 2 student Arzu.
'She's from my country! Can I read the book?'

It was Arzu's turn to join language and literacy coach Ms.
Bernie Biss for consolidated reading time. Arzu's eyes were riveted
to a book on Bernie's cluttered desk. Bernie had only bought the
book the day before, and hadn't even had a chance to read it
herself. Yet here it was, its cover alone making a connection in a way
that sometimes only books can.

Malala: A Brave Girl from Pakistan/Iqbal: A Brave Boy from
Pakistan, a non-fiction picture book by acclaimed author and illustrator
Jeanette Winter (2014), had immediately piqued Bernie's thirst for
global literature targeting young readers, when she'd spied it in
her local independent bookshop. Perhaps, Bernie hoped, Winter's
offering would provide opportunities for critical reflection about
complex global issues like conflict and exploitation, in the safety of
the classroom at Woodridge State School. Maybe it would inspire an ethic
of citizenship and activism amongst the school's 696 pupils
(Phillips, 2012). After all, Winter's text was said to sensitively
bring together the extraordinary stories of two heroic children who had
more in common than their native Pakistan. The first is Malala
Yousafzai, advocate for female education, co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel
Peace Prize and survivor of a Taliban shooting. The second is Iqbal
Masih, who fought against child labour and bondage, and was shot and
killed at age 12.

'So, Arzu tell me about Malala and her story.'

'It's Muh-LAA-la Miss, Muh-LAA-la'.

Bursting with enthusiasm, Arzu shared memories of the homeland she
and Malala shared. Fires, exploding buildings, broken glass and the
arrival of Daesh--'... they hurt people Miss'--punctuated
these memories. Arzu turned the book over and found Iqbal's story.
A quick peek at the author's note and Arzu recognised the word
'Lahore', Pakistan's capital. A stream of memories
cascaded from this tiny girl's stock of life experiences, which
spanned just a handful of years. Without turning a single page Arzu had
found on the cover of Winter's (2014) picture book the possibility
of connection and validation. Much of the classroom literature consumed
by Arzu had given her a vital window into life in her new homeland of
Australia. In this moment however, Arzu was finding her old life
unexpectedly reflected in a picture book--a long and arduous journey
from the Pakistan she had left 18 months earlier.

'Alright Arzu,' Bernie smiled encouragingly, 'how
about you come back at lunchtime and we will read Muh-LAA-la's
story together?'

As Bernie watched Arzu's tiny frame disappear down the
corridor, she began to think. Malala and Iqbal's story might be
empowering for Arzu, but would it be appropriate for other Woodridge
State School readers? Other students, who have fled countries fractured
by the horrors of conflict, may not share Arzu's comfortableness
with the content. What if the book triggered unwelcome and debilitating
feelings?

A richly diverse community

Woodridge State School, located in the outer suburbs of Brisbane,
is a community that deeply reflects the 'unprecedented diversity,
complexity and social division of liberal democracies like
Australia' (Keddie, 2011, p. 133). Approximately 70 per cent of the
696 students come from a non-English speaking background, representing
over 30 different nationalities. Thirty per cent of the students are
from a refugee background and approximately ten per cent are of
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage. Currently around 78 per
cent of the student population sits in the bottom quarter (against an
Australian average of 25 per cent) on the Index of Community
Socio-Educational Advantage scale (ICSEA) (2014). Selecting reading
books for this richly diverse audience requires a carefully considered,
evidence-based approach.

The Woodridge Way to text selection

When Bernie had, the year before, identified the chapter book The
No. 1 Car Spotter and the Car Thieves by Atinuke (2012) as a possible
resource for her students, she mobilised members of the school community
to trial its suitability. To a white middle-class educator the text was
an opportunity to more diversely represent the African cultures of
students attending the school. One of the school's Community
Liaison Officers, Leroy, agreed to test Bernie's chosen book at
home. While Leroy had grown up in Africa, his own children had not. It
didn't matter: His ten-year-old daughter Adana devoured the book,
delighted by its humour and the connection it had to the stories of her
father's life in Africa. (Adana is now also a fan of Atinuke's
series about the travails of one of her heroines, Anna Hibiscus.)

Next on Bernie's checklist were the teachers and students of
one of the Year 4 classes. For the mostly African, Pasifika, Burmese and
Iranian children The No. 1 Car Spotter was a unanimous hit. The
entertaining adventures of Number 1--properly known as Oluwalase
Babatunde Benson--serve as a mirror to reflect the cultural values,
attitudes and behaviour of some of the Year 4 readers, as well as an
informative window into the lives of those students (Hadaway &
McKenna, 2007). Atinuke also delivers a powerful message about the
interdependence of poverty through Number 1's wise grandfather,
'Everybody suffers from poverty. From the loss of teachers and
doctors who could have saved lives, leaders and inventors who could have
made better lives ... one person's problem is always
everybody's problem'. All that was now required to bring
Atinuke and her character, Number 1, into the stable of Woodridge
reading books was administrative approval. Woodridge administration
would need assurance that the text met with community standards in its
portrayal of minority groups. It did, and Bernie was given the
administrative green light she needed.

The No. 1 Car Spotter was now ready for its second debut as a class
text, this time for all the Year 4 students at Woodridge State School.

But The No. 1 Car Spotter's pathway to successful debut
required one fewer consideration than was necessary for the adoption of
Malala/Iqbal. The No 1 Car Spotter was a fictional comedy, whereas at
the centre of Malala and Iqbal's tale was realworld violence. It
was necessary to consider the possibility of some Year 4 students
reading the picture book and revisiting the horrors they had left behind
in parts of the Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

One approach to sensitively reading stories of war and conflict

According to educational psychologist, early years teacher and
teacher educator Olwen Goodall (2007), it is not a question of whether
we address children's knowledge and experience of violent conflict,
but of how we do it. Children know about these horrors either from
first-hand experience, like Arzu, or from the media. The job of teachers
is to sensitively mediate images and stories of conflict, rather than
deny their reality. We risk letting children down, by not taking the
opportunity to address conflict rationally and emotionally (Goodall,
2007, p. 38). Teachers should not, however, insist that children
participate in discussions. Some students may just want to listen, and
others may wish to avoid the topic all together.

When reading an emotive text in the sanctuary of an inclusive
classroom, Goodall (2007) suggests a sequential approach. Such an
approach allows children to feel supported by adults they trust and who
show they too are affected by its content, but not overwhelmed by it.
Teachers initially establish the facts of the depicted conflict as much
as is possible. Feelings are talked about and explored as they emerge
from the story (e.g., Will it happen to me?). Music, art and play may
expand upon the messages and illustrations revealed in the text.
Phillips' (2012) study of social justice story-telling in the lower
primary years also identifies the importance of spaces which allow
children to work through 'emotive reactions' to stories like
Malala and Iqbal's. Possible futures are considered which feature
the safety and security of children participating in the reading.
Goodall also identifies a short activity designed for children to gain a
sense of control over their futures beyond the reading of the text.

The activity titled Reach for the Stars invites children to create
a constellation of their hopes and wishes (Goodall, 2007).

Resources to enable critical reflection and promote active
citizenship in a reading of Malala and Iqbal

Brisbane's non-for-profit Global Learning Centre (GLC) has
developed a unique library over many years, specialising both in global
literature and teaching materials to invoke social justice, human rights
and active citizenship themes. The staff at Woodridge State School have
utilised the GLC's resources and curriculum expertise on numerous
occasions. In the short film Educating for Social Cohesion (GLC, 2015),
Woodridge students engage with the picture book A True Person (Marin,
2007), using an empathy strategy promoted by the GLC. Children enter the
story via self-portraits drawn on sticky-notes and explore what it feels
like, sounds like and looks like alongside the character Zallah, a child
in an immigration detention centre. A valuable web resource, and a
staple in GLC professional support to schools, is Global Education
teacher resources to encourage a global perspective across the
curriculum (Quittner & Sturak, 2008). The website hosts a variety of
inquiry teaching sequences designed to enable students to deepen their
understanding of global citizenship. Malala/Iqbal would make an
excellent companion to explore the GLC unit Our Many Identities (GLC,
2012). Aligned with the F-2 Australian Curriculum, the final phase of
the inquiry process requires students to identify their own abilities to
contribute to their community, and create a plan of action that will
support the inclusion of different cultures, religions or genders. For
the culturally and linguistically diverse setting at Woodridge State
School the themes and concepts explored in these resources become
accessible to students.

Making the language of English visible at Woodridge State School

Since 2010, Woodridge State School (through Bernie's
coordination) has developed a pedagogical framework, which grew out of
Education Queensland's Break It Down, Build It Up (BID) (Department
of Education and Training (DET), 2010) framework for ESL learners in
whole-class contexts. The success of this program is found in students
explicitly learning and rehearsing the language of schools and key
learning areas. Students come to appreciate that they are capable of
performing academically alongside their English-speaking peers. This has
a significant positive impact on the social, emotional and cultural
wellbeing for all students at Woodridge State School. To ensure a
meaningful reading of Malala/Iqbal, the BID framework requires students
to spend an initial period orally exploring new concepts and vocabulary.
Once they can talk about a concept or topic, students are then able to
write confidently about it. Depending on the curriculum context for the
reading of the text, further elements of the BID process may follow.
These include learning and writing about grammar elements and sentence
construction, and finally the generic structure of assessment tasks.

Conclusion

The lunch bell rings, and soon the sounds of exuberant voices and
running feet from the school's 30 plus nationalities will fill the
corridor outside Bernie's office. One of those children will be
Arzu, desperate to learn ways of fitting in to her new world in
Australia, and excited now to sit and read about her home country. This
is why Bernie does what she does, and she's confident that not only
will Malala/ Iqbal be nurturing for Arzu, but it will help all students
recognise that though the global contexts may change, courage in the
face of adversity is a universally human experience.

Written by Alisa Cleary, Global Citizenship Mentor, Woodridge State
School and Global Learning Centre Education Consultant, with
contributions from Bernie Biss, Language and Literacy Coach, Woodridge
State School.

Department of Education and Training (DET). (2010). Break it Down,
Build it Up. Framework for working with ESL learners in whole class
contexts. Retrieved from http://indigenous.education.qld.gov.au/
SiteCollectionDocuments/schools-educators/break-itdown-framework-poster.pdf

Alisa Cleary Is an Education Consultant with the Global Learning
Centre. ALEA's review of literacy resources Is an Important port of
call for Alisa as she assists educators to bring a global perspective to
their classroom. Alisa is currently working at Woodridge State School
piloting 'Educating for Social Cohesion', a DET and GLC
initiative. Email: alisa.cleary@glc.edu.au

COPYRIGHT 2016 Australian Literacy Educators' Association
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.